SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — There is no ocean in South Dakota, but two saltwater creatures are mascots for high school teams. The state doesn’t have a jungle, but it does have Gorillas. And there are at least two tornadoes, or cyclones, depending on which name is used.
As dozens of high schools play sports this school year their team colors, nicknames and logos will be on display on uniforms, fields and courts.
A school mascot/nickname and logo, “that’s our public image, that’s our go to,” said Dawn Spieker, the activities director at Willow Lake Schools
A reading of the schools participating with the South Dakota State High School Activties Association shows the most common school mascot name is the Tigers. But there are some more particular to only a few, or even one school.
Sharks vs. Dolphins
A dolphin may not strike fear in the heart of an opponent, especially a shark, but don’t underestimate the creature, said Brad DeBeer of the Deubrook Area School District.
“Dolphins are one of the mightiest mammals in the sea,” DeBeer said. He is the activities director and dean of students for Deubrook in White. But, although the dolphin is a mighty creature, “I don’t know how much you can make a dolphin look fierce because they are a beautiful mammal,” DeBeer said.
Yet, the Dolphins of Deubrook have had the upper hand in sports competitions against the nearby rival Iroquois-Lake Preston Sharks.
Mike Ruth, the superintendent at Iroquois Schools, said Deubrook has the edge in wins against the Iroquois-Lake Preston Sharks but the Sharks are gaining.
“It’s unique to play each other as the Dolphins versus the Sharks,” Ruth said.
Students in both districts chose the mascots, Ruth and DeBeer said.
Ruth said the mascot names were cut to five possibilities after the Iroquois and Lake Preston schools received a lengthy list of options.
“Both student councils met in Iroquois and were charged to not come out of the room until they had a mascot,” Ruth said.
While the Sharks choice is more recent, the Deubrook mascot has a longer history.
DeBeer said back when Astoria and White schools merged the students selected a mascot. The merge was at least 50 years ago. The Dolphins received the most votes.
DeBeer said he’s heard that former Miami Dolphin owner Joe Robbie had some ties to White or Astoria and that’s part of the reason the dolphin mascot was chosen.
Myth vs. Reality in Gregory?
The published story line in the local newspaper from 1971 about the Gregory Gorilla mascot said the name was inspired by a former teacher and coach’s treasured book, said Gregory Schools activities director Kurt Stukel.
The former teacher was Earl Running, who came to town back in 1928, Stukel said. Stukel said Running had responded to an inquiry about the mascot and his response was printed in the local newspaper.
Stukel said Running was searching for an inspiration for a school mascot. While he was moving in, a treasured book called “Tarzan and the Apes” came out of one of his boxes. He knew that would be the name of the teams.
The Gregory teams would be “like a bull gorilla on the prowl,” read the story published in the newspaper. The Gorillas would be “fair but tough” and would play to win, Stukel read from the story.
Stukel describes the other origination version as “folklore.” The story is that the team was playing very well against a football team that was supposed to defeat them. Stukel said the coach’s speech at half time praised the team and said they were playing as fierce as gorillas. And that the other team couldn’t stop them. From then on, Gorillas became the mascot.
“That’s probably not the truth,” Stukel said.
The Gorillas is an unusal mascot. “I know of one other, that’s in Pittsburg, Kansas,” Stukel said.
Pittsburg State has the gorilla as its mascot.
“We’ve got the half-faced gorilla, something like Pittsburg State has. We’ve got a gorilla mascot, and the G mascot,” Stukel said. “The gorilla mascot with the gorilla leaning on the G.”
“A lot of times with our uniforms we use the (University of) Georgia G,” he said.
Tuff is familiar
“True Tornado fans recognize Tuffy. I am a Centerville alum and I know this is a fact,” Centerville superintendent and athletic director Doug Edberg said in an email to KELOLAND News.
While Clark-Willow Lake uses Cyclones, Centerville teams have been Tornadoes for 100 years.
“Tuffy is an important piece to Centerville. Being one of the few teams that uses Tornadoes makes it an even better mascot,” Edberg said.
Edberg said in his email the latest mascot looks like the Iowa State Cyclone.
The town of Centerville has endured a few tornadoes over the years, including in 2003. The town has a summer celebration called Tornado Days.
The mascot was adopted long before 2003 and Tornado Days. The tornado became the school mascot in the 1925-1926 school year, Edberg said in an email to KELOLAND News.
The original choice back in 1925-1926 was for the Purple Tornadoes. The Tuffy mascot has the purple outline, or fringe.
Dawn Spieker, the activities director at Willow Lake Schools said when Willow Lake and Clark paired for sports, the districts “let the kids have their say.”
The two schools “had been pretty big rivals for a long time,” Spieker said.
When the cooperative agreement started in 2009, students had three options for a mascot and color schemes, Spieker said. The students voted for the Cyclones.
The other choices were Cobras and Colts, with one color scheme as the color of the NFL team Indianapolis Colts.
Spieker said she isn’t aware of any strong ties the Clark or Willow Lake areas may have to Iowa State, which has a Cyclone as its mascot.
Coyotes, not USD
The Waverly-South Shore cooperative sports teams have the mascot Coyote, pronounced as two syllables with a long O in the second syllable — as in ki-yote, like the University of South Dakota, rather than ki-yot-ee.
“It’s a regional colloquialism,” Jon Meyer, the dean of students and athletics director for Waverly-South Shore, said of the pronounciation.
The high school uses the USD pronounciation but not the shortened “Yotes,” Meyer said.
The Coyote name was selected when the two schools first cooperated in football in the mid-1980s. In 2000, it was the name chosen for all sports, Meyer said.
The logo used today was designed around 2009, he said.
Jones County High School in Murdo also has the Coyotes as its mascot.
Cavaliers, not a Raider, not a Spartan
Several high schools use the Cavalier as a school mascot and nickname.
In 1966, students initiated the nickname Cavaliers for Aberdeen Roncalli Catholic Schools, said Jill Young, the director of marketing and assistant director of development for Aberdeen Catholic School System.
A copy of a Cavalier supporter statement said that Cavaliers combines the perceived strength of a Raiders nickname with a lancer used by Lancers. Both Raiders and Lancers had been supported before the vote in favor of Caviliers. The name can also be a tower of strength, similar to the Rocce favored by some, the Cavalier supporter wrote.
The Merriam Webster online dictionary describes a Cavalier as “a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship” or a “mounted soldier” like a knight.
Roncalli students chose Cavaliers.
“Our logo has changed over the years,” said Derek Larson, the school’s activities director.
A Cavalier with lance had been used in football in the past.
The most recent change was a cross with an R for Roncalli. Larson said the logo reflects that the school is Catholic and the emphasis on being led by faith. It’s the logo used on T-shirts and uniforms.
The school’s football team is celebrating its 60th year this season, Young said. A T-shirt including past Roncali logos celebrates the 60 years
The name selected in 2019 for the new Jefferson High School in Sioux Falls was the Cavaliers.
A copy of an executive summary dated Feb. 24, 2020, for a school board meeting said the mascot is attached to Thomas Jefferson’s ties to the University of Virginia. Jefferson founded the university. The university’s mascot and nickname is the Cavaliers.
Sixteen students from the four public high schools along with activities directors and coordinators of athletics and physical education selected the mascot and school colors for Jefferson, according to the executive summary.
Sam the Scooper
The public might not see Sam the Scooper on most T-shirts or uniforms for Sturgis Brown High School but he has a definite presence in the gym and in other school buildings, Sturgis activities director Jade Temple said.
“It’s an intricate design,” Temple said, which can make it tough to replicate on T-shirts and uniforms. Most often, the school will use an S for Sturgis or SS for Sturgis Scoopers.
“We are using it for branding in our new cafeteria,” Temple said.
The school will be incorporating Scooper Sam in the building which ties into a history video.
Scooper Sam is the logo of the Scoopers nickname which dates back to the mid-1970s.
“Sturgis was called Scooptown,” Temple said. The story included on the school’s website said in the late 1800s, “Cavalrymen, who claimed they were ‘scooped’ every payday by the merchants of Sturgis began referring to Sturgis as ‘Scooptown.'”
These days a Scooper resembles more the gold and general mining that has happened in the Sturgis area, Temple said.
The modern Scooper Sam was designed in 2012, Temple said.
The red bird along the river
Scarlet Tanagers are a very brightly colored bird of forests and woodlands in the eastern part of South Dakota, according to the South Dakota Birds and Birding website.
And for Vermillon High School, it’s an appropriate mascot, assistant principal and athletic director Jason Huska said in an email to KELOLAND News.
“Vermillion being in the southeastern part of the state along the river fit for the Tanager to be the mascot. Also, the fact that Vermillion is defined as a brilliant red color,” Huska said. “Both seem to fit well.”
Huska said a tanager is mostly an insect-eating bird but also eats berries and fruits.
“The early mascot was more of a cartoon looking bird,” Huska said. The logo has developed into a more realistic look, he said.
Sioux Valley Cossacks
It may not be surprising that in a town named for the Volga River in Russia, the high school’s mascot is the Cossacks.
“I grew up in Volga and I was a Sioux Valley Cossack so I know the story,” said Dan Swartos, the executive director of the SDHSAA.
The Oxford Language online dictionary describes a Cossack as “a member of a people of southern Russia and Ukraine, noted for their horsemanship and military skill.”
Swartos said the town of Volga was founded by railroad workers from Russia. Many of the street names in Volga are of Russian orgin, he said.
The mascot for Sioux Valley has a man on a horse. Swartos said the mascot is “Ivan the Cossack.”
